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As Berscheid cogently puts it, "...the association between interpersonal communication and the experience of emotion are so strong that problems of emotion and of communication are inextricable intertwined and integral to one another; any information about one is likely to benefit understanding of the other" (1987, pp. 86-87). Yet communication scholars have not traditionally studied how communication and emotion are entwined. Rather, they tend to examine communication outcomes of extreme emotion. Consider the following three research examples.
First, McCroskey's research on communication apprehension (CA) examines fear and anxiety associated with communication because such fear creates difficulties for anxious individuals (e.g., Daly & McCroskey, 1984). Next, Segrin's recent work on depression is similarly cast in terms of how that extremely negative, sad state harms relationships and success in interpersonal interactions (Segrin, 1990; 1992; Segrin & Dillard, 1991). Finally, influence researchers have looked at how messages may create fear (Boster & Mongeau, 1984; Witte, 1992) or other intense emotional reactions (Bradac, Bowers, & Courtright, 1979) and analyzed subsequent responses.
But the study of how emotional information is weighed, considered, and implemented in everyday communication addresses a different area. As human beings we have the potential to think about even low-level affect and gauge it as important information, as part of our "selves" when we interact with others. It is therefore important both theoretically and practically to understand circumstances in which this emotional information is harnessed and utilized rather than either discounted or allowed to rule us completely.
The Affective Orientation
Affective Orientation (AO) is the degree to which people are aware of their emotions, perceive them as important, and actively consider their affective responses in making judgments and interacting with others. Whether as source or receiver, low AO people avoid scrutiny of emotions and do not view internal, affective messages as valid information impacting communication. If aware of their emotions, they are likely to regard them as an interfering factor, preferring to rely on logic and fact. In contrast, high AOs are both aware of a range of emotional response and attend to their emotions, using affect as information to guide interactions. Initial research has shown that AO is a trait which has implications for communication production (Booth-Butterfield & Booth-Butterfield, 1990).
The use of affect as information...